Awe factor disappears from read option after NFL defenses react

On back-to-back Sundays, the Texans will face the biggest hot new thing in the NFL. And possibly the newest fad.

The read option was perfected during the last decade at the college level, captured by Chip Kelly’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it spread offense at the University of Oregon. It’s derived from multiple formations that have paralleled the sport’s evolution, borrowing from sets including the veer, wishbone and single wing, while at times paying tribute to the famed West Coast offense. It was the 2012 version of the 2008-11 wildcat, with the rise of highly athletic young quarterbacks such as San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick, Seattle’s Russell Wilson and Washington’s Robert Griffin III matched by a QB-driven system that perfectly synced up with their hybrid talents.

“We saw Michael Vick do this 10 years ago with Warrick Dunn (in Atlanta),” said Darren Sharper, a five-time Pro Bowl defensive back and current NFL Network analyst. “It’s just we have more quarterbacks that are coming into the league that are athletic and can run the ball and can also throw the ball well. Once you have more guys like that and they have proven they can be successful, it kind of becomes a fad.”

Which is what the read option is already on the verge of becoming in 2013 after the NFL did what it always does: react and change …